Cross-bearer



W. E. WINE CROSS BEARER May 5, 1931.

File June 4. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inueni'or Wi Z Zi am W'ne 42.

Patented May 5, 1931 Pica WILLIAM E. WINE, OF 'ronn no, oHIo oRoss-BEARnR A pplicationifild .Tiine 4, 1928; semi No. 282,782.

My invention relates to crossbearers for railway cars and it has for one of its objects the provision ofimproved means for rig idly tying together and bracing structural parts of the cargcons truction.

plates for'tyingthesides of the car thereto. Another feature of the inv-entionconsists A primaryfeature of the'invention consist'si'n constructing-the cross bearer of substantially trapezoidalform and in provldingit with means adapted to receive angular in providing the cross bearer with upper and lower member's integrally connected adjacenttheir opposite ends by diagonally extending members, said last-named mem- M23 in nuse of'the'trianglebeing secured to the ad bers being PrO ide'd-Withmeans whereby p'la'te lilie members i may be respectively secured thereto and to the sides of the car.

Another feature of the invention resides combining with thecross 'bearer,'

form for connecting the cr'oss bearer and sidesheets'f of the car, the edge of each'of thep'late members constituting the hypotejacentside sheet." I 7 Other and more specific features of the invention residing in advantageous forms,

combinations and: relations of parts willher einafter appear and be pointed outin the claims;

Referring to the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment ofth-e invention g Figure 1 is a fragmentarytransverse sectional view of a'railway'hopper car, the cross bearer and vation. I V V V .b Figure 2is a fragmentary enlarged s de plate-like members being in elev, elevational View of the cross"bearer.v

' t Figure 3 is a plan View of the construction illustrated in Figure 2, the adjacent side sheet and plate-like member being shown in dotted'lines."

- Figure 4 is abottom iew of aportion of the Lc-onstruction illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an-end eleyationalview of'the constructionvillustrated in Figure 2'.

plate-like members of' substantially right triangular v Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken'on line 77, Fi gure 2. F igureB is a fragmentary sectional view taken atline 8+8, Figure 2. y k Figure 9'is aperspective view'of oneof' the: plate-like members,

Referring more particularl'yit'o the draw ings 1 indicates the car center silla'nd "2 the car side sills. The center sill is pref erably composed of two flangedfbeain's 'oon nected by a top cover plate 9. Each side sill is preferably formed withoppositelyp'ro jecting upper and lower substantially ver tical' flanges 53 and 55, respectivelyyconnect' ed by an intermediate'inclined web portion 54'." The car sides may advantageously be formed ofa plurality of sheets 23 respective ly secured along their lower edges to the? upwardly projecting flanges 53' of the sitl'e sills." Adjacent their upper edges they are preferably secured to side top rails which maybe conveniently reinforced by brackets "5. The cross bearer, generally designated by" the re ferencef numeral 6', is "of truss formation having top and bottom chord members 12 and 7, respectively. The bottom chord? member 7 preferably extends continuously" from onefside of the car to the other,"while the top chord member 12 terminates inwardly of the ear sides.- Each of thechord members ispreferably of T-sectionhaving a top flange and a stein-or depending portionytheupper surface of the flange being camber ed as at 19 was not to retain portions :of the lading as itis being dischargedfromthe car-through the drop doors (not shown) in the bottom" thereof. l Adjacent their extremities the upper and lower chord members are connected by diago nally disposed strut members "11Wvhichc'onverge upwardly from the outer ends of the lower chord. Intermediate their ends the chords arepreferably connectedb'y the diago nalstriits- 13'which' diverge upwardly froI'Ii' adjacent the central portion of the lower chord and intersect" the: upper chord adjacent I the point of junctur'e 'of the latter with'the i I struts 11. It'willthus be seen that the cross Figure 6' is a sectional VIBW taken on line bearer is'of substantially trapezoidal form,

parallel sides thereof and the struts 11 constituting the non-parallel sides. Furthermore, the struts 13 divide the cross bearer into three triangularly shaped portions, two of the triangles being respectively defined by the adjoining struts 11 and 13 and the adjacent portion of the lower chord, and the other triangle being formed by the struts 13 and the upper chord.

All of the strut members may be advantageously be formed with substantially vertical flanges disposed in the same plane as the stems or depending portions of the upper and low er chords and with flanges projecting in the same direction and preferably being of the same width as the flanges of the chords. Thus it will be appreciated that since all of the vertically disposed flanges of the cross bearer. are disposed in the same plane they constitute continuations of each other thereby providing the bearer with what in effect constitutes apertured web portions. The marginal edges of the vertical flanges of the top chord member and struts may be conveniently enlarged as at 20 to form beads to additionally rigidify the structure.

At its central portion the lower chord member is provided with a pocket 8 adapted to receive the center sill 1. The top of this pocket is formed by the central portion of the lower chord member, the flange of which is preferably enlarged as at 15, and the spaced deending walls or flanges 28, which are pro vided with a plurality of apertures 29 for receiving rivets to rigidly connect them to opposite sides ofthe center sill. Intermediate the depending port-ions 28 the cross bearer is formed with oppositely projecting flanges 30 which respectively incline downwardly in opposite directions from the top of the lower chord member to afford means for supporting a hood sheet 10 which overlies the top cover plate of the center sill to cause lading to readily pass on opposite sides thereof. These flanges 30 are integrally connected to the central portion of the cross bearer by substantially vertical wall portions 56 which depend from the marginal edges of the flange of the lower chord.

Each end of the cross bearer is provided with portions adapted to be secured to the adjacent side sill. These end portions project on opposite sides of the stem of the lower chord member and each is formed with a substantially vertical portion 57 for attachment to the upper flange 53 of the sill, an inclined portion 58 engageable with the inclined web 54 of the side sill and a lower substantially vertical portion 59 for attachment to the lower flange 55 of the sill.

To provide convenient means for supporting adjacent portions of the inclined floor of the car, such as the sheets, 25, the cross bearer is preferably integrally formed on opposite sides of the center sill with a plurality of flanged portions 24 and 27 which respectively diverge downwardly from the lower edge of the depending portion of the lower chord member on opposite sides thereof. The flanges 24 respectively project inwardly from the end portions which are secured to the side sills and the flanges 27 project outwardly from the depending wall portions 28. Thus the side edges of each of the sheets 25 may be supported by and secured to the flanges 24: and 27 while the upper edges of each preferably terminates in an upwardly projecting flange adapted to be secured to an adjacent portion ofthe depending or stem portion of the lower chord.

In order to brace the sides 28 of the car and rigidly tie them to the cross bearer a plurality of platelike members 3 are preferably employed. Each of these members is preferably of triangular shape and in the present embodiment of the invention they are illustrated as being of substantially righttriangular form. The outer edge of each member or the edge thereof forming the hypotenuse of the triangle is formed with a marginal flange 46 adapted to be secured to the inner face of the adjacent side sheet 23 by rivets which pass through openings 47 in the flange. At its upper edge the flange L6 is formed with a plurality of offset portions 48, 49 and 50 so as to conform to and be secured to the adjacent side top rail 4 of the car.

To provide convenient means for attaching the plate-members to the cross bearer, the diagonal struts 11 are respectively formed with upstanding flanges 4:0. The plates are preferably secured to these flanges by rivets which pass through apertures 42 formed therein and instead of the plates being arranged so as to be overlappingly secured to the same side of the flanges they may advantageously be disposed so that the plate on one side of the car overlaps that face of the adjacent flange 40 which is opposite to the face of the other flange overlapped by the other plate.

Since the bulging forces to which the car sides are subjected tend to rotate them outwardly about the points to which they are secured to the side sills, the rivets employed for connecting the cross bearer and platelike members adjacent the inner edges of the latter are subjected to forces of greater magnitude than those adjacent the outer edges of the members. Therefore, to provide means whereby additional rivets may be employed between the cross bearer and the plate members adjacent the inner edges of the latter, the flanges 40 are preferably integrally formed with laterally offset portions 41. affording convenient portions to which the flanges 52 formed on the inner edges of the plates may be secured. These flanges may, if desired, gradually decrease in width toward the apices of the plates. The offset portions 41 may be suitably reinforced by triangularly shaped ribs or gussets 31. In addition to serving as means for tying the car sides to the cross bearer it will be appreciated that the plate-like members function in the usual manner as the side stakes.

Projecting from the flanges 40 in a direction opposite to that in which the flanges 46 of the associated plates project therefrom, are the flanges 22 which are adapted to be secured to adjacent portions of the side sheets. Thus, in addition to being connected to the side sills, the cross bearer is connected to the side sheets of the car. Furthermore the portions of the flanges 40 adjacent the flanges 22 are preferably enlarged as at 21 so that a very rigid connection may be obtained between the outer ends of the cross bearer and adjoining parts of the car construction.

From the foregoing it will be perceived that a cross bearer has been devised which may be rigidly secured to adjacent portions of the car construction and that by arranging the strut members in the manner disclosed the bearer itself is of sufficient rigidity to adequately withstand the forces to which it maybe subjected.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A cross bearer for freight cars of substantially trapezoidal form, the nonparallel sides thereof being adapted to receive angular plates for tying the sides of the freight car to said'cross bearer.

2. A cross bearer for freight cars of substantially trapezoidalform, the nonparallel sides thereof being respectively provided with flanges adapted to receiye means for tying the sides of the car to the cross bearer.

3. A cross bearer for freight cars of substantially trapezoidal form, the said trapezoid being internally divided into three triangularly shaped portions, the nonparal lel sides of the cross bearer being provided with Lip-standing flanges adapted to receive means for tying the sides of the freight car to the cross bearer.

4. A railway freight car having a cross bearer of substantially trapezoidal form ad-aptedto be rigidly secured to the car center sill and side sills, and plate-like members respectively rigidly secured to the non-parallel sides of the cross bearer for tying the latter to the sides of the car.

5. A railway freight car having a cross bearer provided with upper and lower chord member, means respectively connecting said members adjacent their opposite ends, each of said means being provided withrflanges, and members respectively secured to said flanges and the sides of the car.

6. A railway freight car having a cross bearer provided with upper and lower chord members, said members being respectively integrally connected adjacent their opposite ends by diagonally extending members, said last-named members being fashioned withupstanding flanges, and substantially triangularly shaped plate-like members respec- .tively secured to said flanges and the sides of the car. v

7. A. railway freight car having a cross bearer provided with top and bottom chord membersconnected by diagonally extending strut members, and triangularly-shaped' plate-like members respectively rigidly sesaid plate-like members being also secured to the saidside sheetsand top rails.

9. In a railway car, the combination with side sheets, of a cross bearer having strut members converging upwardly from adjacent the ends thereof, and plate-like members respectively rigidly secured to. said strut members and side sheets, said plate-like members decreasing in width toward the top of theside sheets. j

10. In a railway car the combination with side sills, of side sheets attached to said sills, a cross bearer rigidly secured to saidsills having members respectively; extending up wardly. and inwardly therefrom, and platelike members respectively securedtothe said members. of the cross bearer and the side sheets.

. 11. In a railway car, the combination with side sheets, of a cross bearer and plate-like members of substantially right triangular form respectively'connecting the side sheets and cross bearer,the edge of each of said plate members constituting the hypotenuse of. theitriangle being secured to the adjacent side sheet.

. 12. In a railway car, the combinationwith diagoside sheets, of across bearer having nally extending members, and plate-like members of substantially 'righttriangular form connecting theside sheets and thediag onal members of the cross bearer, the. edge of. each of said plate members constituting thehypotenuse of the triangle being secured to the adjacent side sheet. V

v 13. In a railway car, the combinationwith side sills, of sidesheets attach-edto said sills, a cross bearer rigidly secured to the sills having members respectively extending upwardly and inwardly therefrom, and plate like members of substantially right t'riangu-- lar form connecting the side sheets and the.

diagonal members of the cross bearer, the edge of each of said plate members constituting the hypotenuse of the triangle being secured to the adjacent side sheet.

14. A railway car having a cross bearer of truss formation provided with topand bottom chord members and diagonally extending strut members, and plate-like members respectively rigidly secured to the strut members and the car sides.

15. A railway car having a cross bearer of truss formation provided with top and bottom chord members and diagonally extending strut members, said strut members having upwardly projecting flanges, and flanged plate-like members respectively secured to the flanges of said strut members and the car sides.

16. A railway car having a cross bearer of truss formation provided with top and bottom chord members and diagonally extending strut members, the latter being fashioned with upstanding flanges respectively having laterally projecting portions, and flanged plate-like members respectively secured to the flanges and the offset portions thereof and to the car sides for connecting the latter and the diagonal strut members of the cross bearer.

17 A railway car having a cross bearer, and a plurality of triangularly shaped members respectively secured to the cross bearer and the car sides for bracing the latter, said members being secured to the cross bearer adjacent their inner edges in a plurality of intersecting planes.

18. In a railway freight car, the combination with side sills, of side sheets respectively connected adjacent their lower edges to the side sills, a cross bearer rigidly secured to the side sills, and plate-like members secured to the cross bearer and side sheets for bracing the latter, said plate members being disposed in substantially vertical planes and being secured to the side sheets adjacent their lower edges.

19. In a railway freight car, the combination with side sills, of side sheets respectively connected to said sills, a cross bearer rigidly secured to the side sills and being provided with portions extending upwardly from the latter at an acute angle to the side sheets, and plate-like members respectively disposed in the angle formed by said portions of the cross bearer and side sheets for bracing the latter.

20. In a railway freight car, the combination with side sills, of side sheets respectively secured to said sills, a cross bearer of truss formation rigidly secured to the side sills, said bearer having struts extending inwardly and upwardly from adjacent said sills at an angle to the side sheets, and plate-like members respectively disposed in the angle formed by said struts and side sheets for bracing the latter.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM E. WINE. 

